Bridge for stringed musical instruments.



A. SHUTT.

BRIDGE FOR sTmNGEn MuslcAL INSTRUMENTS.

AYPLICATION HLED APR. 14. |914.

Patented May 11, 1915.

HMM,

vUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT SHUTT, OF TOPEKA, KANSAS.

BRIDGE FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Application led April 14, 1914.

To all l1/71 om it may concern,

Be it known that I, ALmcn'r SHU'I'I, a Citizen of the United States, residing at Topeka, in the county of Shawnee and State of Kansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Bridges for Stringed Musical Instruments, ot' which the following is a. spwfiiication.

The invention relates to music, and more particularly to bridges for stringed musical instruments` and has for an object to provide a bridge of a simple construction and which can he conveniently adjusted to a par tieular musical instrument and the strings thereof at the will of the operator or user.

The invention contemplates, among other features. the provision of a bridge preferably consisting of two parts and a series of adjustable string rests upon which the strings are adapted to lie and across which they extend, the said two-part body of the bridge being so arranged and constructed that it can be dressed down or adjusted to a musical instrument when the same is initially placed thereon and then at a later time can again be dressed down or adjusted to compensate for what is known in the art as the settling of the instrument.

In the further disclosure of the invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, constituting a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bridge; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through the bridge, a part of the instrument being shown in section; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken through the bridge; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the string rests; and Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section of the bridge, showing the manner of arranging a strip between the upper and lower sections.

Referring more particularly to the views, I disclose a bridge 10 which consists, primarily, of a lower section 11 constituting a base and an upper section 12, said lower section 11 being formed with a curved under side 13 which engages the face or top of the stringed instrument 14 and which extends transversely thereto. The upper face of the lower section 11, and which is indicated by the numeral 15, is a plane face and secured in the lower section are a plurality of verti- Specication of Letters Patent. i

Patented May 11, 1915.

Serial No. 831,778.

cally extending dowel pins 16 which, projecting upwardly beyond the t'ace 15, extend into openings 17 formed in the upper section 12. The under face 18 oit' the upper section 12 is adapted to fit against the face 15 of the lower section 11 and the said under face 18 is preferably a plane face, as shown, so that the sections will fit neatly.

The upper section 12 is provided with a series of recesses 19 forming seats 20 and upon which ale arranged to slide transversely to the upper section a plurality of string rests 21. These string rests, as mentioned, can be adjusted transversely of the upper section for the purpose of compensating for any warping of the instrument and for maintaining the instrument in true scale. A plurality of vertical registering openings 22 are formed in the upper and lower sections 11 and 12 for the purpose of making the sections lighter in weight, and as will be seen, these openings project upwardly through the seats 20.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the under surface of the lower section is curved to conform to the curvature of the instrument and for this reason it is very hard to dress down or plane ofl the curved surface on account of its peculiar curvature and the fact that it must properly seat upon the instrument. Thus, in arranging the bridge upon a particular instrument the face 15 of the' lower section can be plancd or dressed down to properly accommodate the upper section and in this way the height of the body can be decreased when desired. If, after the instrument settles, it is desired to raise the bridge, a strip of veneer or the like, indicated by the numeral 23, can be glued or otherwise secured yto the under face of the upper section and provided with a plurality of openings 24, through which the dowel pins can extend, thus raising the bridge to any desired height by simply increasing or decreasing the thickness of the strip of veneer Secured to therunder side of the upper section.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1,. In a bridge, the combination with a lower section adapted to be supported on a stringed musical instrument, of dowel pins projecting from the lower section, and an apertured upper section for removable connection with the lower section and adapted to be superposed thereon, with the dowel pins of the lower section extending,r into the apertures` oi the upper section.

L. In a bridge, the combination with aA lower section` ot' an upper section on the. lower sertion` and means rigid with the lower sect-ion and projecting therefrom t0 extend into the upper Section and secure the `same in superposed position relatively to the lower section. l

23. In a bridge, the combination with n lower section having a plane face, of an upper section having a plane face and superposod relatively to the lower section, a

Iin presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT Sl-IUTT. iVitnesses:

E. O. ConLnN'rz, W. D. TnoMrsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing tho "Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, D. C." 

